This invention relates to a device for measuring two and three dimensional radiation dose distributions for radiation generating devices. Specifically, the invention relates to a system for recording the dose of radiation delivered to a target area and utilizing one or more recordings to measure radiation dose distributions for the tissue in and adjacent to the target area.
In the field of medicine, radiation is used for diagnostic, therapeutic and palliative treatment of patients. The conventional medical radiation sources used for these treatments include large fixed position machines as well as small, transportable radiation generating probes. The current state of the art treatment systems utilize computers to generate complex treatment plans that are difficult and sometimes impossible to verify using conventional measurement techniques such as ionization chambers which only record the dose at one point in space.
In order to be able to more precisely control the dosage and area of treatment, it is necessary to accurately measure and verify the dose distribution and precisely calibrate the device. This procedure is further complicated by fact that the radiation dosage is affected by the density of the material, the more dense the material the more radiation it will absorb. Therefore it is desirable to model the area to be irradiated in order to verify the proper radiation dose is being applied.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for measuring the dose distribution for radiation applied to a target area.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for measuring and recording the dose distribution and generating an image representing the dose distribution of radiation applied to a localized area.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for measuring and recording the dose distribution and generating an image representing the dose distribution of a miniaturized radiation source in a target area.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of measuring and recording the dose distribution and generating an image representing the dose distribution of a predefined radiation treatment plan applied to a medium having known density and radiation absorption characteristics.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of measuring and recording and generating a three dimensional image representing the dose distribution of radiation applied to a target area.